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Zhiling Dao
Practitioner Fellow at International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
Location:
Yunnan, Southwest China
Project Title: A Study on Agrobiodiversity of Highland Barley in Shangri-la, Southwest China
Publications and Presentations: A Study on Agrobiodiversity of Highland Barley(Hordeum vulgare var. nudum Hook. f.) in Shangri-la, SW China
Project Description
As the first step in a long-term agrodiversity study in Tibetan communities, Zhiling Dao is inventorying the different strains and varieties of highland barley in Shangri-la County in Yunnan Province. He is also hoping to understand the relationship between traditional management and conservation of highland barley in these communities.
"The implications of conserving the genetic diversity of barley will be linked to Tibetan culture and the conservation of other forms of biodiversity," said Mr. Dao. "This work will help us understand how Tibetans use biodiversity to develop a rural economy."
The project will be carried out in collaboration with local government agencies and indigenous peoples. The research will draw on several well-established approaches combined in a new way. These include landscape agrobiodiversity assessment, household agrobiodiversity assessment, participatory rural appraisal, and ethnobotanical and anthropological methods.
The research will be conducted from October 2006 to June 2007. Expected outcomes include the following:- An inventory of the genetic diversity and an indigenous classification system of highland barley in Shangri-la;
- Conservation suggestions for highland barley and other plants;
- Collection and storage of seeds for all highland barley strains and varieties;
- Distribution of the genetic resources to further laboratory study of genetic diversity of highland barley.
Biographical Information
Zhiling Dao holds a master's degree in botany (ethnobotany) from the Chinese Academy of Science and is an associate professor at the Kunming Institute of Botany at the same institution.
From 1991 to 1994, Mr. Dao carried out an investigation of agroforestry systems of the Yunnan Province, which was funded by the Ford Foundation. From 1995 to 1998, he received a grant from the MacArthur Foundation to look at forest management and biodiversity conservation of the Gaoligongshan Mountains. He continued related work in 1998 with grants from the Global Environment Facility, United Nations Development Programme, and National Science Foundation. His personal interests are agrobiodiversity, plant taxonomy, ethnobotany, plant diversity, and plant resources.
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